Patent '433 describes a rotary folding apparatus to make seams along selected margins of a shaped garment.
The '433 apparatus can be arranged to make longitudinal seams in the machine direction, transverse seams in the cross direction, and seams along margins at any angle.
Patent '433 also describes the use of mechanical fingers or air blast to fold extension flaps of an underlying segment over the margins of a superposed segment to entrap it within the folded seam.
To provide clearance for `extraneous` devices used to fabricate special garment components such as shirt collars, etc., a shaped vacuumized bearing surface (platen) was defined. It is the functional equivalent of the term `bearing surfaces` used in the description of this invention for manufacturing briefs.
Patent '433 describes the folding/seaming apparatus for garments having a front panel and a rear panel including front opening briefs made from two half width overlapped segments that are bonded together in spaced central areas of the trailing half segments to from a rear panel, later attached to the unbonded front panel after transverse folding.
In the preferred embodiment of this invention, a major portion of the fabrication and assembly occurs while the material is still in web form, before severing the almost completed briefs.
In another embodiment of this invention (see FIG. 14), the partially completed brief is cut into segments before transfer to the carrier drum.
In a modification of the preferred embodiment, the briefs can include an adhesively coated area covered with a release coated strip that is pulled off by the user for attachment of an absorbent pad of choice.
In another embodiment, the product can include an absorbent pad having features well defined in prior art.
Appartus described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,081,301 to Buell (Class 156). U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,367 to Bourgeois, U.S. Pat. No. 4,240,866 to Gore, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,967 to Sigh can be adapted to apply elastomeric bands to the briefs and/or the intergral pad so that components of the combination will contract equally when tension is relieved at cutoff.